The Gospel of Mark 9:43-50
“And if your
hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable
fire, [and where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] And if
your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [and where their worm
does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] And if your eye causes you to
stumble, gouge it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with
one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not
die, and the fire is not quenched. “For everyone will be salted with
fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it
salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.”
God hates
sin. God is thrice holy and righteous and by His nature cannot sin, nor can he
sin. He is perfect and His ways, standards, and laws are good because He is
good. Yahweh said to Moses “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me
and live!” (Exodus 33:20) For the sin in mankind is so foul and vile that “our
righteous deeds are like a filthy garment, and all of us wither like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)
This is the
stark contrast between Yahweh and His creation. When God created mankind, He
called it good. But through deception, Satan deceived Eve and Adam passively
ate of the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and
their eyes were opened, and sinned entered the world. Young in their faith, our
parents were led astray, and they stumbled.
Woe to
Satan, for He will suffer a greater judgment for causing Yahweh’s little one to
stumble. It would have been better if a millstone were hung around the serpent's
neck and he be cast into the sea, for His head will be crushed by the promised
seed, Jesus. And he will be cast into the lake of fire to burn for eternity,
where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” (Revelation
20:10)
But that is
the fate of the great deceiver, of those who lead those young in faith and
devoted to Christ to stumble and make great offense against God. However,
Personal accountability is an even more important responsibility. Jesus said
three times if a hand, foot, or eye causes you to stumble, to cut it off and be
maimed entering the Kingdom of God, than be whole and be cast into hell. Hell
is real, and it mainly refers to the lake of fire where if “anyone’s name
was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
(Revelation 20:14) This is the final destination for Hades, Death and all who
continue to practice iniquity, practice their sin. This is the second death,
whereas the first death is when we die.
How do we
handle this text then? Do we literally remove body parts? No at all, the
picture Jesus is making is that when it comes to sin, we must put it to death. John
Owen puts it this way in his book, “The Mortification of Sin.”, “Be
killing sin or it will be killing you.”
This quote
is a powerful exhortation to believers to actively put sin to death through the
Holy Spirit’s empowerment, rather than allowing sin to consume and ultimately
destroy their lives. Owen’s words serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need
to mortify sin and pursue righteousness, as Scripture warns, “For if you
live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death
the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).
This is Jesus'
command to us, the deeds of the hand, foot, and eye are to be cut out of our
lives. The hand represents the work that one does. Is your hand against
everyone? Does your hand steal from others? Does it take with force and subdue?
Does it build for selfish gain, or destroy that none may have? Does your foot
stand in the way of sinners? Are your “feet
swift to shed blood?” Do your feet
run to evil? Do they step on people so that you may rise? Do your feet stand
haughtily against the wind?
And the eye,
does it lust with delight at the site of woman or man? Does it see others as
below you? Do they see what others have and covet to have it? Do they take in
that which tickles your ear and gets your fancy? Are not the eyes the windows
of the soul? What evil are you pouring into your soul that taints your mind and
pulls you away from God and the truth?
Yahweh said, “For I am Yahweh your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;” (Isaiah 43:3) “Set yourselves apart as holy and be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44), and as Peter wrote, “Therefore, having girded your minds for action, being sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not being conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your conduct; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
And this is
the severity of following Jesus, that you cut off everything that will cause
you to stumble, that is to sin. Adam and Eve had sinned, and they knew they had
done so, for their eyes were opened and they were ashamed. Their feet fled out
of the sight of Yahweh, and they hid themselves, and their hand, worked shoddy
garments of leaves to cover themselves. But God knew what they had done and by
his mercy, He killed an animal and shed its blood and made clothing from the
skin and covered their shame.
So, Jesus is
that sacrifice whose blood redeems the sinner so that the sinner can cut out
the sin in his life. Like the refining fire, so will the followers of Jesus
succumb to the purity of holiness, like salt, they will preserve what is good
with their hands, run to stop the rot of sin and evil with their feet, and
speak with seasoned reasoning from the truth of God’s word which they have read
with their eyes.
“But if the
salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt
in yourselves and be at peace with one another.” Jesus finished His discourse
with His disciples. He encouraged them to be at peace with one another and to
not cause others in their faith to stumble. He also encouraged them to be
watchful and not to stumble themselves.
Jesus came
to save sinners. Sinners suppress the truth and hide in their darkness because
they love darkness. They are unbelieving, vile, foolish, rebellious, haters of
God who have adopted the ideologies of this world and the doctrines of men.
They have become slaves to their sexual desires, perverting the flesh and mind,
and rebelling against the created order of God. They are doomed to condemnation
and will be judged by Jesus and sent to Hell where they will burn for eternity
in the lake of fire.
However, God
so loved His creation, mankind, that He sent His Son Jesus, who can forgive you
of your sins and redeem you because He has the authority and power. Jesus
brings eternal life to all who repent and believe. For Jesus bore all our sins;
He bore all the sins of all who believe in Him. Jesus was born and lived a
perfect life of obedience to God as a man. Jesus was condemned to be executed
and die in the sinner's place. He suffered the totality of God's wrath upon
Himself on the Cross, which every sinner deserves, so that those who believe in
Jesus may have peace with God.
Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death, and lives, and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and He is in your midst with us offering you salvation, repent, and believe Jesus.
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